Court orders halt to layoffs – as folks steering American innovation wonder how long injunction will last

Employees at Uncle Sam's National Science Foundation (NSF) are relieved that the Trump administration's plan to downsize the federal government collided with the US court system on Friday – but they're worried that the relief is only temporary.

A source at the foundation told The Register staff are confused, scared, depressed, angry, and tired of the chaos. They're not sure what comes next and they can't do the job "because we have no funds to make awards."

They do at least have jobs for the time being. Planned staff cuts have been halted temporarily, following a Friday court ruling halting Trump-ordered layoffs.

The Register has seen a memo chief management officer Micah Cheatham sent to NSF staff Tuesday outlining the actions relevant government agencies have thus been temporarily forbidden from taking. These include: "Execution of any existing RIF (reduction in force) notices (including final separation of ...